Flatout Ultimate Carnage (360 exclusive)

Since 6892 Days

What does Ultimate Carnage offer over FlatOut 2?

Danny Rawles: FlatOut Ultimate Carnage will be the definitive version of FlatOut available on any platform. The series has always paved the way for technological advances in a racing game, now we're bringing this technology over to the next generation and raising the bar higher.

But it's not all about the physics, technology and gorgeous visuals, the gameplay has been tweaked and fine-tuned and new game modes have been included to both single player and Live.

What new features have been afforded by the superior Xbox 360 hardware?

Rawles: We're pushing the hardware as far as we can and so far everything is holding together. From a memory point of view, we've upped the number of dynamic objects you can crash into from approx 5,000 to somewhere between 7 and 8,000 objects.

And these objects stay on the track and can influence gameplay, they don't get reset or fade away over the course of a race. With the increased GPU power, we can now render more cars (12 in-game), at higher resolutions, with thousands more polygons.

All the cars have real-time environment mapping and real-time shadow mapping including self-shadowing. In fact, the entire scene, not just the cars have a real-time shadow map. All buildings, trees, cars, characters, and every single one of the 8,000 objects have a proper shadow.

Tell us a bit about the new game modes.

Rawles: We've really concentrated on bolstering up the arcade side of the game. This makes it a lot more accessible and immediate with quick rewards to appeal to players who prefer not to get buried deep into the career mode. More details about game modes will be revealed at a later date.

Have you taken any influence from PS3's Motorstorm, and do you feel motivated by the increased competition?

Rawles: In all honesty no, we've not been influenced by Motorstorm. Looking at some of their features, perhaps they've been influenced by FlatOut.

We've obviously kept an eye on it to see what they're doing but it's not a direct competitor to FOUC since they are PS3 exclusive and we are Xbox 360 exclusive. But competition in general is always a good thing.

You have to stand out in this competitive genre and we're making sure FOUC does exactly that. If you think destruction, damage and carnage, we want FOUC to be the first game that comes to mind.

What are your plans for Xbox Live play and how does Ultimate Carnage perform online compared to single-player?

Rawles: Performance wise, simply superb. This is where the game comes into its own. I really enjoy the single player modes and the AI is very good at being unpredictable like real people are, but playing on Live with a bunch of mates takes the experience to a whole new level.

The plan is to create a more seamless and rich experience on Live. The first big change is hostless sessions for our ranked games, which has a couple of immediate benefits.

Firstly it makes ranked games fairer since there is no host to dictate his or her favourite track. Secondly there's less waiting around since lobbies are timed, again you don't have to rely on a host to physically start a game, so the turnaround is a lot quicker.

The second big change is the infamous Rag Doll Stunt games, which have been overhauled. We've changed the gameplay from being turn-based to simultaneous play. The problem with an eight-player turn-based game is that it can take a very long time to finish and for most of the time you're just a spectator. Now the stunts are simultaneous online, they're more fun and immediate for the player.

Have the huge amount of dynamic objects caused problems for optimising the game for online play?

Rawles: Well this was solved way back in the days of FlatOut 1 and even though we have thousands more objects and everything is vastly more detailed, the Xbox 360 is proving this won't be a problem online. What you see and experience in single player, is what you'll see and experience online.

Hmm definitely sounds interesting. I think this game will look pretty good in motion gotta wait to see some more. Like it definitely doesn't look crazy impressive from the screens, but I think this one might end up looking pretty nice upon completion atleast I hope so.

In reply to

[img]http://www.computerandvideogames.com/medialib/screens/screenshot_174830.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.computerandvideogames.com/medialib/screens/screenshot_174829.jpg[/img]

[quote] What does Ultimate Carnage offer over FlatOut 2?

Danny Rawles: FlatOut Ultimate Carnage will be the definitive version of FlatOut available on any platform. The series has always paved the way for technological advances in a racing game, now we're bringing this technology over to the next generation and raising the bar higher.

But it's not all about the physics, technology and gorgeous visuals, the gameplay has been tweaked and fine-tuned and new game modes have been included to both single player and Live.

What new features have been afforded by the superior Xbox 360 hardware?

Rawles: We're pushing the hardware as far as we can and so far everything is holding together. From a memory point of view, we've upped the number of dynamic objects you can crash into from approx 5,000 to somewhere between 7 and 8,000 objects.

And these objects stay on the track and can influence gameplay, they don't get reset or fade away over the course of a race. With the increased GPU power, we can now render more cars (12 in-game), at higher resolutions, with thousands more polygons.

All the cars have real-time environment mapping and real-time shadow mapping including self-shadowing. In fact, the entire scene, not just the cars have a real-time shadow map. All buildings, trees, cars, characters, and every single one of the 8,000 objects have a proper shadow.

Tell us a bit about the new game modes.

Rawles: We've really concentrated on bolstering up the arcade side of the game. This makes it a lot more accessible and immediate with quick rewards to appeal to players who prefer not to get buried deep into the career mode. More details about game modes will be revealed at a later date.

Have you taken any influence from PS3's Motorstorm, and do you feel motivated by the increased competition?

Rawles: In all honesty no, we've not been influenced by Motorstorm. Looking at some of their features, perhaps they've been influenced by FlatOut.

We've obviously kept an eye on it to see what they're doing but it's not a direct competitor to FOUC since they are PS3 exclusive and we are Xbox 360 exclusive. But competition in general is always a good thing.

You have to stand out in this competitive genre and we're making sure FOUC does exactly that. If you think destruction, damage and carnage, we want FOUC to be the first game that comes to mind.

What are your plans for Xbox Live play and how does Ultimate Carnage perform online compared to single-player?

Rawles: Performance wise, simply superb. This is where the game comes into its own. I really enjoy the single player modes and the AI is very good at being unpredictable like real people are, but playing on Live with a bunch of mates takes the experience to a whole new level.

The plan is to create a more seamless and rich experience on Live. The first big change is hostless sessions for our ranked games, which has a couple of immediate benefits.

Firstly it makes ranked games fairer since there is no host to dictate his or her favourite track. Secondly there's less waiting around since lobbies are timed, again you don't have to rely on a host to physically start a game, so the turnaround is a lot quicker.

The second big change is the infamous Rag Doll Stunt games, which have been overhauled. We've changed the gameplay from being turn-based to simultaneous play. The problem with an eight-player turn-based game is that it can take a very long time to finish and for most of the time you're just a spectator. Now the stunts are simultaneous online, they're more fun and immediate for the player.

Have the huge amount of dynamic objects caused problems for optimising the game for online play?

Rawles: Well this was solved way back in the days of FlatOut 1 and even though we have thousands more objects and everything is vastly more detailed, the Xbox 360 is proving this won't be a problem online. What you see and experience in single player, is what you'll see and experience online.   [/quote]

Hmm definitely sounds interesting.  I think this game will look pretty good in motion gotta wait to see some more.  Like it definitely doesn't look crazy impressive from the screens, but I think this one might end up looking pretty nice upon completion atleast I hope so.

Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

docLEXfisti

Since 7118 Days

I just loved the first part - can't wait for this game. nice find, optimus!

In reply to

the only tyrant I accept is my inner voice

Optimusv2

Since 6892 Days

I really like the talk about what the game engine is doing. Like other games though this one will likely need to be seen in action.

In reply to

Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

GriftGFX

Since 7000 Days

Interesting. Sounds like a fun game, I never did play the first one. And while it may not look crazy impressive, it hardly looks bad either. Some nice damage modeling they've got there.

Hmm..maybe I should try Flatout 1? It has a destruction derby mode? I'm sold already.

In reply to

szaromir

Since 6757 Days

It'd better be 60fps.

In reply to

Optimusv2

Since 6892 Days

Posted by GriftGFX

Interesting. Sounds like a fun game, I never did play the first one. And while it may not look crazy impressive, it hardly looks bad either. Some nice damage modeling they've got there.

Hmm..maybe I should try Flatout 1? It has a destruction derby mode? I'm sold already.

Thats why I hate screens so much lately I believe this one in motion might surprise people graphically.

In reply to

Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

LEBATO

Since 7122 Days

Nice, hopefully this game can replace Burnout forever and then there's no need to buy anything from EA anymore........at least until they buy another great developer :(

In reply to

Where the crap is Shenmue 3 SEGA? Scrap that thing called Shenmue online and finish the Shenmue epic story on 360!

GriftGFX

Since 7000 Days

Posted by Optimusv2

Thats why I hate screens so much lately I believe this one in motion might surprise people graphically.

I like screens. What you see is generally what you get, sure you don't get animation and physics information from stills, but you do get a crisp and detailed shot at what a frame looks like before it gets to your set..I like that. It also makes for good comparisons, frame buffer vs. frame buffer is the way to go. The only thing I don't like about screenshots is the tendency to doctor them.

In reply to

Optimusv2

Since 6892 Days

You really think screenshots = what you is what you get?

There have been so many games this gen that look much better than their screenshots.

Ghost Recon, Gears of War are just a few. Hell even God of War 2 looks a hell of a lot better in motion than it does in a screenshot :)

Call of Duty 3 is also one of them.

In reply to

Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

GriftGFX

Since 7000 Days

Posted by Optimusv2

You really think screenshots = what you is what you get?

There have been so many games this gen that look much better than their screenshots.

Ghost Recon, Gears of War are just a few. Hell even God of War 2 looks a hell of a lot better in motion than it does in a screenshot :)

Call of Duty 3 is also one of them.

No...I don't agree with that at all. Screenshots are the purest form of WHAT YOU GET--I don't need to see things filtered through reality, that happens when I actually play the game and I know what to expect. I'd rather see the unadulterated version of what things look like. Also, if you really take the time to soak up all the detail, Call of Duty 3 is not that impressive looking.

Things look better in motion, sure, but for dissecting the quality of texture and model detail, nothing will ever beat a framebuffer grab for me.

"Off screen" images from a camera shot don't mean much to me..like I said, I don't need to see games filtered through reality, I want to see the information that is coming directly from the machine in the purest form possibile.

In reply to

[quote=Optimusv2]You really think screenshots = what you is what you get?

There have been so many games this gen that look much better than their screenshots.

Ghost Recon, Gears of War are just a few.  Hell even God of War 2 looks a hell of a lot better in motion than it does in a screenshot :)

Call of Duty 3 is also one of them.[/quote]

No...I don't agree with that at all.  Screenshots are the purest form of WHAT YOU GET--I don't need to see things filtered through reality, that happens when I actually play the game and I know what to expect.  I'd rather see the unadulterated version of what things look like.  Also, if you really take the time to soak up all the detail, Call of Duty 3 is not that impressive looking.

Things look better in motion, sure, but for dissecting the quality of texture and model detail, nothing will ever beat a framebuffer grab for me.

"Off screen" images from a camera shot don't mean much to me..like I said, I don't need to see games filtered through reality, I want to see the information that is coming directly from the machine in the purest form possibile.

INDIGO

Since 7702 Days

You most certainly cannot tell from screenshots what a game will actually look like this gen. A lot of shaders don't come across, and none of the post effects do.

In reply to

GriftGFX

Since 7000 Days

Posted by INDIGO

You most certainly cannot tell from screenshots what a game will actually look like this gen.

I agree in a way, but for seeing poly and texture detail...no...a framebuffer grab is still the best way to see that. Obviously a game is much more than a still screen grab, especially now that we're seeing more and more complex animation and physics systems..but I still think there is plenty of value in a screenshot.

I'm certainly not saying that it's exactly what you're seeing from your TV set, but it's what is actually being generated by the console, as a frame, and there is value in that.

In reply to

Optimusv2

Since 6892 Days

I'll just disagree completely in this case as I think not being able to see how a number of aspects to a game in action such as physics, environmental effects and many other things really detract from a game.

Don't get me wrong I like seeing screenshots for an anticipated game just as much as the other guy, but a screenshot to me represents the most misguided look into what a game is really doing. The recent mercenaries 2 screenshots have looked like crap. I'm willing to bet it probably ends up looking incredible in action.

Like i'd prefer to see the lighting in action rather than see it look static in a still screen.

In reply to

Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

GriftGFX

Since 7000 Days

Posted by Optimusv2

Like i'd prefer to see the lighting in action rather than see it look static in a still screen.

That's assuming the lighting is actually dynamic, anyway. I know where you're coming from--but you can get quite a lot of visual information from a static screenshot. For looking at actual detail, they still contain quite a bit of information for us. Obviously we're not talking about things like physics and animation systems here, just raw detail.

But I know how you feel about it--how couldn't I? You basically counter every screenshot posted with the same comments--Wait til you see it on your HDTV first!

I just assume the latter is obvious; of course we want to see what it looks like on our sets, but that doesn't mean we can't see plenty from the framebuffer.

In reply to

Optimusv2

Since 6892 Days

Haha yea I say it so much because it can't be stressed enough :D

These games are designed to look great running on television sets. If they happen to look incredible in still screens too then thats a bonus.

I mean going by screenshots I think Gears of War looks like rubbish, but seeing it in motion and throughout the singleplayer you really understand how big an unjustice screens do it.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/...

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/...

From these 2 horrible screens I wouldn't be able to tell Gears look as amazing as it does :) Seeing in motion is believing :D

That doesn't look too good at all.

Even one of the more beautiful areas in the game is heavily subdued in screens.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/...

So looking at stuff like this is why I refrain from making judgements on the visual aspects of certain games until I see them in action. Some games look so bad in screens you just know there is no hope =P

In reply to

Haha yea I say it so much because it can't be stressed enough :D

These games are designed to look great running on television sets.  If they happen to look incredible in still screens too then thats a bonus.

I mean going by screenshots I think Gears of War looks like rubbish, but seeing it in motion and throughout the singleplayer you really understand how big an unjustice screens do it.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/744/744356/gears-of-war-20061107035019971.jpg

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/744/744356/gears-of-war-20061107035021706.jpg

From these 2 horrible screens I wouldn't be able to tell Gears look as amazing as it does :)  Seeing in motion is believing :D

That doesn't look too good at all.

Even one of the more beautiful areas in the game is heavily subdued in screens.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/744/744356/gears-of-war-20061107035022987.jpg

So looking at stuff like this is why I refrain from making judgements on the visual aspects of certain games until I see them in action.  Some games look so bad in screens you just know there is no hope =P

Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

GriftGFX

Since 7000 Days

Yea but those Gears shots are horribly compressed--that's a completely different issue all together. If a screenshot suffers from horrible jpeg compression, it's basically not worth looking at.

Posted by Optimusv2

So looking at stuff like this is why I refrain from making judgements on the visual aspects of certain games until I see them in action. Some games look so bad in screens you just know there is no hope =P

Sounds like a bit of a double standard to me. You can tell a lot from a screenshot (that's not poorly compressed)--you can see art direction, texture, model and enviromental detail--it's not everything but you can see a lot.

In reply to